Art Tatum

The best pianists in the history of jazz are Art Tatum, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson -- in that order -- according to a national survey of jazz pianists. Conducted by Gene Lees, a former editor of Down Beat magazine who`s working on a biography of Peterson, the survey attempted to "find out what pianists think about jazz pianists, not what critics and historians think," reported JazzTimes magazine, which published the results. Explained Lees, "I also queried a number of composers, almost all of whom play at least competent piano, and some of whom, such as Francy Boland, are superb jazz players.

In a career that began in rural Wisconsin and continues eight decades later at Manhattan's Iridium Jazz Club each Monday night, he's jammed with everyone from Art Tatum and Louis Armstrong to Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. And even if he'd never played a note, he'd be a music legend for two inventions: the multitrack recording technique and the solid-body electric guitar. Lester Polfuss, better known to the world as Les Paul, is the subject of tonight's exhilarating edition of American Masters.

Two years ago David Chertok, who has one of the largest collections of jazz on film in the world -- a collection he draws from for his very popular illustrated lectures -- started using it to make video cassettes with Burrill Crohn, a producer, writer and director who had previously done a series of seven half-hour films on women in jazz. "What we put together was something that did not exist on the market at that time," Chertok said the other day. "Most video jazz releases were just simple performances -- go to the Village Vanguard or some such club and shoot for an hour."

Within the 88 keys of a piano, you can find almost every possible sound and feeling of music. But a piano is just a mute box of wood and wire until someone gives it life through the artisty in his hands. In the view of many, the best hands in jazz today belong to a softspoken Detroit native named Tommy Flanagan. For more than 40 years, Flanagan has been a quiet, steady force, working with everyone who has ever counted in jazz, from Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane.

Alvin P. Adams, an aviation executive who came of age in the Roaring '20s and never outgrew the roar, died Oct. 2 at Lenox Hill Hospital. He was 90 and lived in Man-hat-tan. In a career in which he was The Wall Street Journal's first aviation specialist at 21, a vice president of a leading aviation investment company at 24, the presi-dent of an airline at 29, a major industry consultant at 34, a Pan Am executive at 45 and the point man in the U.S. invasion of the European Airbus until he was 72, it would be tempting to conclude that Mr. Adams was simply an aviation man. That would be a mistake.

In a career that began in rural Wisconsin and continues eight decades later at Manhattan's Iridium Jazz Club each Monday night, he's jammed with everyone from Art Tatum and Louis Armstrong to Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. And even if he'd never played a note, he'd be a music legend for two inventions: the multitrack recording technique and the solid-body electric guitar. Lester Polfuss, better known to the world as Les Paul, is the subject of tonight's exhilarating edition of American Masters.

Within the 88 keys of a piano, you can find almost every possible sound and feeling of music. But a piano is just a mute box of wood and wire until someone gives it life through the artisty in his hands. In the view of many, the best hands in jazz today belong to a softspoken Detroit native named Tommy Flanagan. For more than 40 years, Flanagan has been a quiet, steady force, working with everyone who has ever counted in jazz, from Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane.

Think what you will of President Clinton's politics, but you have to admit his heart is in the right place when it comes to jazz. Last month, after he took up his saxophone to play Summertime and My Funny Valentine at a jazz club in the new Czech Republic, it occurred to me that this was more than just a publicity stunt by a politician. The president was honoring the imagination and the traditions of his country. Those grand old songs, after all, are some of the best ambassadors our nation has. Nearly two years ago, long before Clinton took the stage at Prague's Reduta Jazz Club, I visited the same club.

Noted jazz pianist Johnny Guarnieri has died while visiting in New Jersey. He was 67. A spokeswoman for St. Barnabas Hospital said Guarnieri was admitted to the emergency room Monday, suffering from pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, and then had a fatal heart attack. For years, Guarnieri was a mainstay of the Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw bands and was a composer of hundreds of songs and instrumental works. He was known in his time as the foremost interpreter of jazz and exponent of stride piano.

Q. Can you help a grandmother who made a rash promise to her 9-year-old granddaughter? She is doing a report on missions in California, specifically the one in Capistrano. I told her that there was a beautiful song titled When the Swallows Return to Capistrano. She asked me to get a copy of it for her, and I said I would try to deliver it. -- Doris Wexler, Boynton Beach A. When the Swallows Return to Capistrano was written in 1940 by Leon Rene. It was recorded by a very diversified group of artists, with best sellers by the Ink Spots and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, vocal by Ray Eberle.

Alvin P. Adams, an aviation executive who came of age in the Roaring '20s and never outgrew the roar, died Oct. 2 at Lenox Hill Hospital. He was 90 and lived in Man-hat-tan. In a career in which he was The Wall Street Journal's first aviation specialist at 21, a vice president of a leading aviation investment company at 24, the presi-dent of an airline at 29, a major industry consultant at 34, a Pan Am executive at 45 and the point man in the U.S. invasion of the European Airbus until he was 72, it would be tempting to conclude that Mr. Adams was simply an aviation man. That would be a mistake.

Think what you will of President Clinton's politics, but you have to admit his heart is in the right place when it comes to jazz. Last month, after he took up his saxophone to play Summertime and My Funny Valentine at a jazz club in the new Czech Republic, it occurred to me that this was more than just a publicity stunt by a politician. The president was honoring the imagination and the traditions of his country. Those grand old songs, after all, are some of the best ambassadors our nation has. Nearly two years ago, long before Clinton took the stage at Prague's Reduta Jazz Club, I visited the same club.

Two years ago David Chertok, who has one of the largest collections of jazz on film in the world -- a collection he draws from for his very popular illustrated lectures -- started using it to make video cassettes with Burrill Crohn, a producer, writer and director who had previously done a series of seven half-hour films on women in jazz. "What we put together was something that did not exist on the market at that time," Chertok said the other day. "Most video jazz releases were just simple performances -- go to the Village Vanguard or some such club and shoot for an hour."

The best pianists in the history of jazz are Art Tatum, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson -- in that order -- according to a national survey of jazz pianists. Conducted by Gene Lees, a former editor of Down Beat magazine who`s working on a biography of Peterson, the survey attempted to "find out what pianists think about jazz pianists, not what critics and historians think," reported JazzTimes magazine, which published the results. Explained Lees, "I also queried a number of composers, almost all of whom play at least competent piano, and some of whom, such as Francy Boland, are superb jazz players.

Sal Mosca, a jazz pianist whose career began playing with giants such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, only to take himself out of the public eye in later life, died July 28 in White Plains, N.Y. He was 80. The cause was complications from emphysema, said his daughter, Kathryn Mosca. Mr. Mosca was one of the main proteges of Lennie Tristano, the jazz pianist known for his rigorous approach to improvisation and his following among students and fans. A lifelong resident of Mount Vernon, Mr. Mosca grew up emulating the stride of Fats Waller, the swing of Teddy Wilson and the technical and improvisatory mastery of Art Tatum.

Q. I have the Frank Sinatra and Gordon MacRae recordings of Soliloquy from Carousel, but I also would like the written lyrics. Can you help? - Richard Neugesser, Hallandale A. Soliloquy is just one of the hits from the Rodgers & Hammerstein 1945 production Carousel. If I Loved You, June is Bustin' Out All Over and You'll Never Walk Alone also are featured in the show. You can get the sheet music for Soliloquy at Conti's Music, 604 S. Federal Highway, Dania; 1-954-923-2996. Notes to readers For anyone who may have had their order for the new Second Time Around tape returned, please take note that you may now send your order to Second Time Around, c/o Dar Inman, 610 S. Broadway, Lantana, Fla. 33462.